The Development of a Mutualistic Relationship Between Turkey and DAESH
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ISSN: 1304-7310 (Print) 1304-7175 (Online) http://www.uidergisi.com.tr Sway on a Tightrope: The Development of a Mutualistic Relationship between Turkey and DAESH A. Salih BIÇAKCI Assoc. Prof. Dr., Department of International Relations, Kadir Has University To cite this article: Bıçakcı, A. Salih, “Sway on a Tightrope: The Development of a Mutualistic Relationship between Turkey and DAESH”, Uluslararasi Iliskiler, Vol. 16, No. 62, 2019, pp. 101-133, DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.588955 To link to this article: https://dx.doi.org/10.33458/uidergisi.588955 Submitted: 30 March 2018 Last Revision: 20 April 2019 Published Online: 01 June 2019 Printed Version: 01 June 2019 Uluslararası İlişkiler Konseyi Derneği | International Relations Council of Turkey Uluslararası İlişkiler – Journal of International Relations E-mail : [email protected] All rights of this paper are reserved by the International Relations Council of Turkey. With the exception of academic quotations, no part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, sold or transmitted in any form and by any means for public usage without a prior permission from the copyright holder. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the author(s)’s and do not reflect those of the Council , editors of the journal, and other authors. Sway on a Tightrope: The Development of a Mutualistic Relationship between Turkey and DAESH A.Salih BIÇAKCI Assoc. Prof. Dr., Department of International Relations, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT The Arab revolts have changed the regional balances. Syria is one of the particular examples of these changes. The shifting balances also presented ideal ground for the identities that have been suppressed throughout years. In addition to Al-Qaedah, new version of jihadism appeared at the stage which is known as Daesh. In this research, one intends to comprehend Turkey’s interaction with Daesh in the context of Syrian Civil War to shed light on the evolution of the global jihadism. Ankara has perceived Syria problem at first an opportunity to establish its domination over Syria later it turned into the web of entanglement relations which has changed Turkey’s a century long standing policy in the Middle East and initiated sets of reactive policies to handle the short term problems. The US and Russia agreed to suppress Daesh with the collaboration of various local groups. However, Daesh is far beyond being just a terrorist organization but a new version of the jihadist ideology which holds the remanences of prior jihadist groups. Keywords: Daesh, Turkey, ISIS, ISIL, Jihadism, Kurds, Terrorism, Radicalization, Networks İp Üstünde Cambazlık: Türkiye ve DAEŞ İlişkisinin Gelişimi ÖZET Arap isyanlarıyla birlikte bölgesel dengeler değişti. Suriye bu değişimlerin özel örneklerinden birisidir. Değişen dengeler yıllar boyunca bastırılan kimliklerin kendini gösterebilmesi için ideal bir zemin oluşturdu. El Kaide’ye ek olarak, cihatcılığın yeni versiyonu Daeş sahnede yerini aldı. Bu araştırma Türkiye’nin Suriye iç savaşı bağlamında Daeş ile etkileşimini anlamayı hedefliyor. Bu etkileşim de küresel cihadın ne yöne evrildiğini anlamamıza yardım edecektir. Ankara başta durumu Suriye üzerinde hâkimiyet kurma fırsatı olarak okudu. Sonrasında, Suriye’deki durum Türkiye’nin uzun yıllardır devam eden Ortadoğu politikasını değiştiren karmaşık ilişkiler ağına dönüştü ve Ankara kısa vadeli sorunların üstesinden gelmek için bir dizi reaktif politikalar başlattı. ABD ve Rusya, çeşitli yerel gruplarla işbirliği yaparak Daeş’i bastırmayı kabul etti. Bununla birlikte, Daeş bir terör örgütü olmanın ötesinde, önceki mücahit grupların ideallerini de sürdüren cihatçı ideolojinin yeni bir versiyonudur. Anahtar Kelimeler: DAEŞ, Türkiye, ISIS, ISIL, Cihatçılık, Kürtler, Terörizm, Radikalleşme, Ağlar ULUSLARARASIiLiŞKiLER, Cilt 16, Sayı 62, 2019, s. 101-133 ULUSLARARASIİLİŞKİLER / INTERNATIONALRELATIONS This paper1 presents the historical timeline to understand the emergence of Daesh and its interaction with Turkey in the context of the Syrian Civil War. A thorough understanding of the war is veiled behind the chaotic relations among the actors and their alliances. The literature on Daesh presents it with no account of its history and of its position with the alliances on the ground. Even though the organization has been suppressed by several militaries and militias, its continuing presence and the new phase of the jihadist ideology suggest that future manifestations with similar inspirations will continue to affect the global scene. To recapitulate the events pivoting around the interaction between Turkey and Daesh would assist us to better understand such global implications. The Syrian Civil War and continuing conundrum affected not only the Middle East but also other regions. In the early days of the Syrian Civil war, the global community was unsure how to handle the clash among different ethnic groups. As the calamities and problems in Libya and the results of the U.S. incursion into Iraq continued, power broker states were reluctant to take a position in the Syrian conflict. In the International Relations literature, ongoing interventions and their results had already initiated intellectual discussions on the liberty-security equilibrium and on whether the international system would choose between chaos and a corrupted order. Another problem was the unique position of Syria. In a country ruled by an Alawite minority for decades despite the Sunni majority population, the Syrian power elite historically supported Iranian policies in the Middle East. As the self-declared protector of the Shiite community in Syria, Iran was involved in the Syrian civil war early on. Turkey acted as another key actor, which had considered Syria as a threat during the Cold War but dramatically changed its position by late 1990’s. Some researchers interpreted this shift as a ‘desecuritization’ process but the brief honeymoon would end in disgrace. After the Arab Springs, a new form of terrorism, which was supported by the masses and held a sui generis ideology following the collapse of nation-states, was introduced to the international system. The international interventions to these sporadic movements catalyzed the metamorphosis of new terror groups. Ordinary, righteous and democratic public protests evolved into civil wars with no sure prediction on they would end or into which form they would transform. These social quagmire occasions provoked the Cold War rulers who were equipped with power and technological capabilities and maintained the illusion of shifting the events in the direction of their aspirations. In the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, two major parties, one led by Bashar Al-Assad representing the Ba’ath regime and its sub-national interest groups, and the other by the opposition formed by Syrian civilians, existed. The initial prediction was that the power superiority and capacity of the regime would suppress the uprising of Syrian civilians. The war, as proved later, would have varied effects on different actors, such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the Kurds, Hizballah in the region; and on the U.S., Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain, at the global level. Each actor promoted its own agenda by maximizing its own power. Thus, each moved to control the outcome to its advantage. One of the well-known moves was to carry different grade weapons into the conflict region to challenge the power balances at the local level and 1 I greatly appreciate to Sevinç Rende and Teoman Türeli for reading versions of this paper. 102 Sway on a Tightrope: The Development of a Mutualistic Relationship to form an organized resistance movement and debilitate the capability of the Assad regime. Students of International Relations observed similar strategies in different conflicts, such as in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chechnya, and Iraq. Yet, the Al-Qaedah offshoot organizations, Al-Nusrah and Ahrar al-Sham, emerged in Syria quicker than expected as the products of unpredictable components. All states with connections to the Jihadi networks knew that these fighters would join any conflict as long as it was ideologically fitting. It was the appearance of Daesh in the middle of the Syrian Civil War, and its challenging of the world order and the nation-state concept, that upended the established balances in the region. Unlike Turkey, most of the involved states and actors do not share a long border with Syria. Therefore, Turkey witnessed all the problems of proximity and involvement, as Pakistan did during the Afghan war. With this background, this research aims to examine Turkey’s interaction with Daesh and its policy towards the organization through the series of events and within the tangled relationships of several actors in the context of the Syrian Civil War. What were the consequences of this mutual relationship? More specifically, how did the interaction between Turkey and Daesh change during the sequence of events in the Syrian Civil war? Finally, in what ways would the emergence of Daesh help us to understand the future of terror organizations? Globalization of Jihad The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan had caused the emergence of an experienced jihadist culture. When the conflict ended, some fighters returned to their prior life in their home countries. Other fighters stayed behind, because either their adaptation would not be possible or their names appeared in the terrorist lists. Following